"Why Should We Even Bother Making An Xbox Game": Devs And Publishers Are Reportedly "Baffled" By Xbox's Exclusivity Strategy

Summary

• Xbox's approach to exclusivity has "baffled" other developers and publishers, according to reporter Chris Dring.
• In a new episode of The Game Business Show, Dring has claimed that some devs are now wondering whether they should "even bother" making games for Xbox.

Xbox's approach to exclusivity over the past couple of years has been so confusing that even Xbox fans have no idea what is and isn't off the table when it comes to launching on other platforms. Earlier this week, we found out that Gears of War is now officially going to launch on PS5, leaving even fewer of Xbox's big franchises exclusive to the system.

Meanwhile, games like Avowed and South of Midnight are stuck on Xbox and PC for now, and if you're finding the whole thing extremely strange and confusing, you're not the only one. According to gamesindustry.biz reporter Chris Dring, other developers and publishers are confused too.

Developers Are Reportedly Wondering If They Should "Even Bother" Making Games For Xbox

In the latest episode of The Game Business Show, Dring claims that multiple developers and publishers are "baffled" by Xbox's recent decisions surrounding exclusivity, and some are so concerned that they're wondering what the benefits of releasing a game on Xbox are at this point.

Xbox Series X Isn't Worth $600, So It's Definitely Not Worth Over $700

Xbox prices went up, but their value went down.

"Certain publishers and developers have spoken to me baffled by this, because, from their point of view, they want the competition in the console space," says Dring. "They go 'why should we even bother making an Xbox game if this is the strategy'? That's the balance that Microsoft is gonna have to strike."

Of course, Game Pass is a huge lure for a lot of developers, as the recent success story of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has proven you can have your cake and eat it too when it comes to getting a nice chunk of cash from striking a Game Pass deal. However, Xbox has no more confirmed exclusives on the horizon, with Doom: The Dark Ages, The Outer Worlds 2, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4, and the next mainline Call of Duty all launching on PS5.

It looks as though Xbox is just done with the concept of exclusive entirely, and if Xbox isn't going to bother making exclusives for its own system, then why should other developers? Its hardware is also becoming increasingly difficult to support, with price hikes on pretty much every Xbox product, so I wouldn't be surprised if the idea of an Xbox exclusive won't be a thing in a few years.

Xbox Series X

Launched in 2020 in conjunction with the Xbox Series S digital-only console, the Series X is the disc version of Microsoft's premier gaming platform.